Page 38 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

“What kind of something?”

“That I don’t know, sir.” Possibly because he’d slithered away rather than face whatever was going on. He’d thought he’d been giving Cadence the space to make her own choices, but in reality, maybe he’d only been proving himself to be the coward he already knew he was.

“Why would that fool want his son in a loveless marriage? Sounds like a hostage situation to me.”

“I thought the same thing, sir. I can’t imagine why.”

Grandfather studied him. “They only ever had the one son. Weren’t there miscarriages, as well?”

“I… sir? I’m not privy to that information.”

“Daniel Bradley must want his hands on the next generation. That’s all I can think of. He’ll make a bid for any child Cadence might bear Paul. Then he won’t need her anymore.”

“But why Cadence? Why not some other woman who might actually love Paul?” Not that Graham could imagine anyone that blind or dull.

“What is Donald Foster’s line of business? How does it mesh with Daniel’s?”

Graham’s brain zipped through the possibilities as though it were a virus-hunting program, but nothing clicked.

“No known mafia connections,” Grandfather observed.

Uncle Daniel? Graham blinked. “I haven’t heard any rumors to that effect.”

“There’s something big. There has to be. But, for now, we need to be fully booked by Monday so there’s no possibility of this trio extending their stay.”

“Uh, we have vacancies…”

“Not anymore, we don’t. Put some bogus names on file and charge them to me. They’ve booked three nights, and we are not allowing them to stay one minute longer.”

“Three nights?” Graham hadn’t even wondered. His heart sank. He’d let Cadence down. Again.

“One more thing, Graham.”

He straightened his back. “Yes, sir?”

“You need to let Cadence know how you feel about her. You’ve been moping around for three weeks, and it’s getting on my nerves. Just make up your mind and get on with it. That girl needs to be cherished, and I can assure you Paul Bradley has no intention of stepping up to the plate.”

Relationship advice from Grandfather? That was rich. On the other hand, their marriage had lasted nearly fifty years and only ended with Grandmother’s passing. Even though the man was harsh, he must have been a decent spouse.

Also, the grapevine wasn’t as quick around here as Graham had feared, if his grandsire hadn’t heard of the kiss to end all kisses seconds before Cadence’s guests had arrived.

Kiss to end all kisses? No. Graham definitely didn’t want that to be the final one. He wanted a lifetime of them.

But was Cadence free to choose him? Didn’t she need space to decide what to do about the ultimatum without Graham’s interference? On the other hand, what if she thought she didn’t have any other options? What if she felt forced to knuckle under?

That would never do. Not while Graham was alive and able to provide an escape.

“Graham?”

He shook his head slightly and focused on Grandfather. “You might be right, sir.”

“I’m always right.”

Sure. Except when he was wrong which, admittedly, wasn’t very often. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Was humor glinting in the old man’s eyes? That definitely didn’t show too often.

“You’re well able to provide for a wife and a family, boy. Sometimes a man has to stick his neck out to lay a claim on what he wants. It’s not always easy being male, not in this day of women’s lib.”

---